I Bequeath
by SkyeRose
Summary: What happens when someone in the SGC gets ahold of the last will and testaments of SG-1? Well, they make copies of the more personal parts and put them up around the SGC for all to view! Who could be behind this? Better than summary! Goofy fluff, SamJack! ThreeShot
1. Chapter 1

**I Bequeath…**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, these wonderful people are not mine. The plot is though, so far as I know.**

**A/N: So, I've done so much angst and realism lately I needed a break and figured you guys did too! No idea where this came from, but it's been floating around my head for awhile and I decided it was finally time. I apologize in advance for any OOC, but it shouldn't be too bad. Just a little fic **

**Enjoy!**

They had all had those moments—those missions where they came just a bit too close for comfort. Those missions where, for a split second, they didn't think they would make it back. And it was because of those moments that lead them to dutifully manage what physical possessions they had and write down final condolences for those left behind.

Their last will and testaments.

Being the SGC's flagship team SG-1 generally got the toughest mission rotations and had the closest calls. Which is why it had become almost a habit for Sam to update her will almost monthly or, at least, check and make sure the letters she'd written to those closest to her were still current and—in one case—non incriminating. She wasn't obsessive…just careful.

Besides, she knew Daniel did the same thing. Though he certainly had more to give away than her; the man practically owned a museum. She wasn't positive on what kind of will Teal'c kept, if at all, but his earthly possessions were minimal and Ry'ac was his only family. She was sure he had something in place in case one of their missions went…badly.

It was the colonel that gave her pause. She knew he had a will, they had discussed it on one prior occasion years ago, back when they'd only been SG-1 for a little over six months. He'd had to change his primary beneficiaries and figured now was as good a time as any seeing as how he was back in the field and no longer in the relative safety of retirement.

It had been a weird conversation for the then Captain who was still trying to feel out her new CO. At times he seemed as gruff as any seasoned military/black ops officer and at others…he was gentle. Unbelievably so. And at other times he was just as ass.

But a lovable one.

Sam shook her head as she read over her will once again. She had four current beneficiaries, notably absent was her brother. He had been her sole beneficiary up until she joined the Stargate program, but they had discussed it and despite their tenuous newfound relationship, both had agreed it wasn't necessary. Anything Mark had would go to his wife and kids, Sam knew that. And Mark knew that he was no longer her only family. Besides Jacob, of course.

So Janet, Daniel, Teal'c, and the Colonel were the sole benefactors. She knew likewise that she was in Daniel and Janet's will, but she had no idea about the colonel. He was very tight lipped about it, though Sam suspected she knew who was in it.

Still. That didn't mean she didn't want confirmation…

But, no. That would be illegal.

And wrong.

Sam gave her computer a sideways glance. Maybe he had a copy of his will saved on his hard drive?

No. Sam shook her head. She was being crazy. She couldn't look at his will, not like that. Maybe she could convince him to divulge its contents one day? No, that seemed like a morbid conversation. And when would she even do it? In the middle of a botched mission when he or she lay dying and she would just be like…'Colonel…we're about to die…so…who's in your will?'

Yeah. She didn't think so.

Sam looked back down at her computer, confused to find that her fingers had begun the process of opening a backdoor into the SGC system. She didn't remember doing that…but clearly her subconscious really wanted to know if the colonel had said anything about her. Specifically.

"Carter?" Sam nearly fell off her stool in surprise. The colonel was standing just inside the doorway, knuckles laying against the doorframe in what was the apparent action of someone who'd been knocking for awhile.

"Sir!" Her voice came out higher than usual and she coughed to clear her throat. "Um, sir. Hi."

Jack cocked his head in amusement. "Hi." He casually stepped into her lab and leaned against the table. "Whatcha doin?" He nodded at her hands still poised tensely over the keyboard.

"Nothing." She answered just a tad too quickly before clicking the escape key and shutting the laptop.

A fleeting frown crossed Jack's features before he met her eyes again. He could push her…but he decided not to. Maybe she was finally doing something personal that didn't involve doohickeys and technobabble stuff.

And maybe he was a little curious.

But, still. He would let Carter have this one.

For now.

"Want lunch? Daniel and T are headed to the commissary now." Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and gave her a brief smile.

"Sounds good, sir." Sam smiled back and stood, following him out of the lab—determined to put the curiosity behind her.

It never occurred to either of them that Sam should have closed her door or locked up. And it never occurred to either of them that someone else was burning with their own curiosities.

But it should have.

**TBC**

**Please R and R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I Bequeath: Part Two**

**Disclaimer: See previous chapter.**

**A/N: I am so so sorry. That is all. Sorry.**

**ENJOY!**

A figure stepped out from around the corner and quickly glancing around to make sure no one was watching, ducked into Sam's lab. He shut the door quietly behind him and turned to look at the darkened room. He flicked the switch to his right and blinked in the sudden brightness. There it was.

Sitting right there on her table, unprotected and ripe for the taking…or at least the snooping through.

Daniel Jackson stepped forward and a small grin lit his face. The laptop was closed, but the blinking logo on the front told him that she hadn't shut it down. It hadn't been closed that long…so maybe her computer wouldn't prompt him for a password just yet. He opened the laptop, holding his breath, and promptly breathed a sigh of relief when the screen popped up without a password.

And his smile grew. On the screen was a open backdoor. A backdoor right into Jack's on-base computer. Daniel tsked quietly. "That's illegal, Sam." But his smile remained. He had gotten to her after all.

_The Previous Day_

"_Sam?" Daniel rapped on the half open door to his friend's lab._

"_Come." Her reply was quick, but distracted._

"_Hey, what're you up to?" Daniel dropped onto the stool across from the major._

"_Hm? Oh, not much. Just going over the preliminary report for the artifact they brought back from 423." Sam smiled briefly at him before going back to the relatively thick folder in front of her._

"_Anything good?"_

"_Yeah. Definitely." Sam didn't look up, but cleared her throat slightly._

"_Sam."_

"_Pretty useless." Sam looked up, giving up the false pretense of optimism. "I think it was a weather device—you know, will it rain today? Or be sunny?"_

_Daniel grinned. "Well, you know Jessup; very eager to please."_

"_I know. And I know he's new, but this is the third thing he's brought back for me to look at in as many days and they've all been duds." Sam managed to keep her voice even, but it was getting on her nerves._

"_Well, at least it gives you something to do." Daniel regretted the words the second they left his mouth. Sam was a notorious workaholic, generally only leaving the base when Jack ordered her to. But that didn't mean he needed to point it out to her._

_Sam looked at him sharply. "I have plenty to do, Daniel."_

"_I know." 'That's right,'_ _he thought. _'Go for placating.'

"_For example, I'm currently working on a new dial up program for the gate. I think I may be able to cut the time in half which would make it easier-,"_

"_I know, I know, I'm sorry." Daniel scrunched his face apologetically. "I didn't mean anything."_

_Sam rolled her eyes. "I know. I'm just tired, I think."_

_Daniel nodded and looked around the room, letting the silence hang in the air for a minute. "So…we're late." Sam frowned, so Daniel continued. "We haven't talked wills in awhile."_

"_Ah. Yes." Sam pushed the report aside and folded her arms on the table. "Well, we haven't had a really tough mission rotation lately. No near deaths."_

"_True. But that'll end." They both grinned at the somewhat somber comment. But it was a way of life and they loved it. He paused, then sucked in a breath, like he had just thought of something. "Hey…have you talked to Jack about his will?"_

_Sam glanced up sharply. "No." The response was quicker than she'd intended and Daniel raised his eyebrows. "I mean, once, years ago, but not since then." She scrunched her nose and looked away._

"_I haven't either, but I think I overhead him once, talking to his lawyer or whatever." Daniel tried to keep his voice casual. "I thought I heard your name."_

_Bomb dropped._

_Ball's in your court now, Sam._

_So Daniel waited as Sam processed this, trying very hard to conceal her expression. "Well, he's in ours, I assume we're in his. Makes sense."_

"_Yeah, makes sense. I don't know though." Daniel stood and tapped on the table. "The way he was talking. Sounded serious. Important." Sam looked at him, slight suspicion creeping into her expression. He was losing her. "But, you know, we could find out."_

_Sam blinked, taken aback at the comment. "Find out what?"_

"_What's in his will." Daniel watched her watch him._

"_Daniel...if you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting…" She looked at him waiting for his response. He just shot her a guilty look. "Daniel! That's illegal!"_

"_It's not like you haven't done it before." Plan B—once a deed's been done, it's easy to do it again._

"_What?" But she didn't meet his eyes._

"_Oh, come on, Sam. Even Jack knows you've read his classified personnel file." Sam gritted her teeth and smiled dangerously._

"_Daniel."_

"_I'm just saying, Sam. He sounded really serious on the phone. It's an option." And with that he smiled and turned on his heel. He didn't know if it worked, but he'd done his best._

But, apparently, it had worked. And she hadn't gotten the chance to read it yet. Which was even better. Truth be told, Daniel had no idea if Sam was in Jack's will—he'd made up the conversation between Jack and his lawyer. But he was pretty sure she was in there.

And then he became very sure.

Jack's will read like that of a very imaginative, yet attention span deficient person. Which was no surprise. As Daniel read, his grin grew wider. Oh, this was good. This was _too _good. As his eyes flew down the page Daniel could hardly contain himself.

The original plan was out. A new idea was forming in his mind.

But he needed to run it by the mastermind of this whole scheme first.

And he needed to download Sam's will.

**TBC**

**A/N: Again, I'm so sorry. Also, I'm making this a three parter. I just really wanted to get this up for you guys right away. Look for part three soon! (I mean it this time!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I Bequeath Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer: You guys know the drill**

**A/N: Thank you for all the positive responses! You guys are the whole reason I do this. **

**Enjoy!**

Daniel looked across the table at his boss/partner. "So? What do you think?" His hands were gripped tightly in front of him, nearly bouncing out of his chair in excitement. His voice was tight, but hopeful. He'd left Sam's lab with all the necessary information and run right to the source of this plan. It was brilliant; possibly the most brilliant thing he'd ever come up with.

He only hoped they thought so too.

After a moment shrewd eyes flicked up at him. "Do it."

And she smiled.

….

Sam ran a hand over her face as she stepped into the elevator. Man, she was tired. She didn't really know why, she'd gotten at least four hours of sleep the night before—she usually didn't need more than three. But she was exhausted. And it didn't help that people kept her strange looks. Some looked like they were about to burst into laughter when they saw her and some looked at her with such sad expressions she worried that she looked way worse than she'd thought.

It didn't matter anyway. It's not like she was trying to impress anyone. Not really anyway.

Sam pushed the button for the level her lab was on and leaned against the elevator wall. She descended five floors before the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Two young lieutenants stepped inside, barely able to contain their giggles when they saw who else was in the elevator. Sam managed a tight smile before turning away thinking that no elevator ride had ever been so slow.

The two women were whispering to each other, just loud enough that Sam could hear but not distinguish any words. After another five floors, Sam turned casually, smiling that weird tight smile again. She could feel her temper rising—who did this lieutenants think they were? Laughing at a higher ranking officer?

She didn't think so.

"Excuse me." The two women stiffened immediately, faces dropping into expressionless masks.

"Ma'am." They both said, nodding their heads slightly.

"May I ask what you two are whispering about?" Sam cocked her head dangerously, eyes cold.

They glanced at each other. "Uh, well…" One of them stuttered eloquently.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "That's an order, Lieutenant."

The one on Sam's right—McCallister, maybe?—squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "It's personal, ma'am."

Sam blinked, hesitating for a second. What if they weren't laughing at her? What if she was just being paranoid and snapped at two officers for no reason? "Personal?"

"Oh, not for us, ma'am." She glanced at the other lieutenant. "For you."

Sam turned slowly as the elevator doors slid open and the two women slid past her, trying to get away as fast as possible. Sam stepped out and into an oppressive quiet; the kind of silence where you just know everyone has been talking about you. She looked around at the guilty faces that surrounded her—at all the eyes that wouldn't meet hers. For an excruciating moment, she felt like she was back in high school and fight or flight was starting to kick in.

Sam glanced down, trying to school her features, but frowned when she saw a piece of paper instead. She bent down and the second her fingers brushed it there was a great rush of movement as nearly everyone around her muttered some excuse and hurried off. _What the hell was going on?_

Sam straightened and flipped the paper over. As she began to read, a strange ringing started in her ears and the ground suddenly felt very much like it was imitating an ocean. This was not happening. Certain words jumped out at her "bequeath," "O'Neill," "doohickey," "song"…and on the list went. This was _her_ will.

And if she was guessing correctly, everyone on base had seen this. She glanced up at the few stragglers still left in the corridor. But it wasn't the people that drew her attention…it was the walls. Every few feet, a paper was posted. Taking two large steps Sam grabbed a handful of them and just stared. Her will was posted _everywhere!_ Her extremely private will. _'Son of a-,'_

"Major?" She whirled at the voice. Walter was standing in front of her looking very solemn.

"Sergeant?" Sam's voice was strained and she knew her face was trying to do that smile thing again.

"Here, ma'am." He shoved another paper into her hands.

"With all due respect, sergeant, I really don't need more proof that my very personal wishes have been spread throughout the base."

"It's not yours, ma'am." Walter raised his eyebrows. "It's Colonel O'Neill's."

…

Jack stood staring at the very nervous personnel he had corralled in the control room. The three lieutenants, two sergeants, and Siler had been excitedly discussing the papers that had been scattered all over the base when a distinctive cough behind them had caused them to scatter.

Or at least try to.

Now they were all seated facing the colonel, who was staring at them, blocking the door with his broad frame. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face was a blank mask. After a very awkward few minutes, they all began to talk at once.

"Sir, I'm so ashamed-,"

"Colonel, this is an outrage!"

"I don't know who would've done this-,"

"Wasn't me."

"I can't believe I'm not in your will."

The last one came from Siler who was sporting a slightly put out expression. Jack looked at the sergeant with surprise and a hint of shame. "Siler?"

"I mean, you're in mine. You knew you were in mine. I thought we were…I can't believe I'm not in your will." Siler dropped his gaze and began to dejectedly play with the paper in his hand.

"You are." Jack cleared his throat. "I mean, you will be. I, um, was going to." Siler glanced up at him before looking away again. Jack opened his mouth to try again, but snapped it shut, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Listen up, I'm not angry." He paused as everyone shifted in their seats. "I just want to know who did this."

The officers all glanced around at each other and came to unsurprising conclusion that none of them had any idea who was behind it. Jack sighed. "Alright, how many copies are there?" He waited, expecting to hear a small number, or that they were the only ones with the paper. What they said instead surprised him and had him tearing down the hall.

"Hundreds, sir." One young lieutenant said. "They're all over the SGC."

…

Daniel had considered coming to work late, but ultimately decided that would look suspicious. So he was in his office when Jack burst in, face blank and said, "You. With me." Daniel looked startled. There was no way he had figured it out already, had he? "Now, Daniel!" He called, already halfway down the hall. Daniel jumped up and followed the older man.

"Everything okay, Jack?"

"Take them down, Daniel."

"What?"

"Somebody put my will all over the base. Help me take them down." The man already had an overflowing trashbag with him.

"Really?" Daniel fought very hard to keep the smile off his face. He pulled one off the wall and looked it over, feigning ignorance. "To Daniel Jackson, I bequeath the entirety of my…" Daniel trailed. "Simpsons DVD collection. Seriously?"

Jack snatched the paper away from the archaeologist and shoved it in the trashbag. "They're important."

"Uh-huh." Daniel reached back into the bag and pulled out another paper. "I also give to Daniel Jackson the journal that I kept during his first…" Daniel swallowed hard; he didn't know how, but he must have missed this one when he skimmed over Jack's will. "Year as part of SG-1. You kept a journal?"

Jack snatched the paper away again. "Yes." He answered through clenched teeth. "Not very detailed or kept up, but…I tried. I saw you doing it on Abydos, so I figured, I'd…you know." When Daniel just looked at him, a huge smile spreading across his face, Jack turned away. "Whatever."

Before he could get too far, Daniel again grabbed a paper. "And to Dr. Daniel Jackson I bequeath the box numbered 2. The box numbered 2?" Daniel repeated, unsure of how he had missed two bequeathals from Jack's will.

"Box 2?" Jack turned, brow furrowed. "I don't know what that it."

"Oh." Daniel glanced at the top of the page. "That's because this isn't your will. It's Sam's."

…..

Sam could barely breath, she felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest as she hurried along the corridor, trying to find the colonel and tearing down as many of the papers as she could. She prayed that he hadn't seen them yet. She had turned the corner and was jogging past the women's locker room, when she heard girly peals of laughter rising from under the door.

And you just didn't normally hear girly peals of laughter at SGC.

"Oh, my god, who knew Major Carter was such a romantic?"

"Or that Colonel O'Neill could be sweet?"

More giggles. Sam pressed her ear to the door, trying to identify the voices, but she couldn't.

"To Colonel Jonathan "Jack" O'Neill I bequeath box numbered 1, in which he will find various objects from our missions that I deem important for him." The first voice recited. "Oh, I wonder what's inside."

"Maybe a flower he gave her in passing or something." A previously silent woman chimed.

"Or a piece of his uniform from that time he got shot, remember?" The second woman piped up.

"That's stupid, Karen. And weird." The first woman laughed.

_Karen?_ Sam turned the name over in her mind, but couldn't place a face to it. These women were gossiping like schoolgirls! Sam grabbed the handle, intent on dressing them all down for being so immature when another voice made her pause.

"Listen to this! To Major Samantha Carter, I bequeath my copy of National Treasure, starring the incomparable Nicholas Cage." Karen giggled. "Why that movie?"

"Because he thinks she's special. He's so romantic." The woman sighed and Sam could practically see her eyelashes fluttering.

"Easy, Lisa. I think the Colonel's spoken for." Karen said in a disappointed voice.

"I know, but a girl can dream, right?"

They all laughed again.

"Oh, but this is my favorite!" Another voice said over the giggles. "To Jack O'Neill, I also bequeath the CD marked 'J.' On it he will find a mix of songs that will hopefully remind him of me and our years together."

"She left him a CD! Oh, God, that is unbelievably romantic."

"And dorky."

Sam frowned. It had seemed brilliant when she thought of it.

"Jen!"

"What? This isn't high school."

Sam narrowed her eyes. She'd had enough. Pushing open the door, she glared down at the women in the room. "Really? Because it sure sounds that way to me."

"Major!" They all scrambled to their feet, standing at attention.

"What do you all have to say for yourselves?" Sam placed her hands on her hips and raised a threatening eyebrow.

The women looked nervously at each other before one particularly brave captain stepped forward. "Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

Against her better judgment, Sam caved. "Granted."

"Well, the SGC can get boring and, well, you and the colonel are so…" She paused, looking for the right word. "Well, you're the perfect will they won't they couple."

"Excuse me?" Sam swallowed hard.

"I mean, the tension is so palpable. It's like watching one of those really classy film noirs."

Sam just stared at the woman in front of her. She had no idea what to say. But anger and embarrassment were making her mind sluggish and she suddenly needed to be very far away from here. "Throw them away." She turned on her heel and stormed from the room.

"Ma'am!" The voice caused her to pause. "Ma'am, you should read his last bequeathal."

…..

Jack didn't know what to do. He really had no clue. He couldn't bring himself to read Carter's will, but he couldn't seem to let it go either. He was standing outside the commissary, trying to figure out what his next step should be when laughter broke him from his musings. He glanced at the commissary doors. He didn't have to be psychic to know what the laughter was about.

"I mean, have you read this?" One male voice was saying. "To Teal'c I bequeath all things Star Wars related, including the matching plate and cup set."

Laughter again.

"He has Star Wars plates? Seriously?"

"Go easy on the guy, Phil. I know for a fact you have a Star Trek pajama set."

"What?"

"Your wife told me."

"Shut up, Mark." More laughter followed that comment.

"Did you guys read what he gave to Major Carter?" A new voice added.

"Yeah. 'To Major Samantha Carter I bequeath my telescope, so that she can look at the stars whenever she feels homesick." Phil's voice was full of humor.

"No, no. I mean, that's sweet, but did you read the last thing?"

A soft murmur to the negative.

"Guys…he gave her his cabin. The man gave her a house."

…

Sam sat in the briefing room, staring out at the gate, wondering how long she would be able to look at it for. Once, the general and subsequently the president found out about this, there was no way she'd be able to keep her job. This was it.

A soft footstep behind her caused her spine to stiffen. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. "Sir."

"Carter."

After a tense moment, he moved into the room and sat next to her at the table. "Thinking that this might be the last time you see it?" Sam nodded. "I was wondering the same thing."

"We could just tell them it's fake. Deny that these are our actual wills." Sam looked down at the paper in front of her. Her heart still thumped whenever she looked at the last request.

"Oh, this isn't my will."

"Sir?" Sam's head snapped up embarrassment flooding through her.

"Relax, Carter. I was kidding. Trying to lighten the mood." Jack looked away, back towards the gate.

"Oh." Sam's eyes dropped to the table again. "So, you've read it, I take it."

"Read it, had the entire base read it at me…same thing." Jack smiled self-deprecatingly. "But…yes."

"Me too." Sam made a face as she tried to make this less awkward.

"Yeah." They both sighed. Seconds flew by as both of them tried to avoid looking at the other. "So." Jack said finally. "Any idea who did this?"

"A few." Sam looked up. In truth, she had been thinking about almost nothing else. Nothing except what Jack had given her. And what it could mean.

"And?"

"Daniel." Sam brow furrowed slightly and Jack looked surprised.

"Really? I saw the guy earlier and he didn't seem to know much about it."

"I don't have proof, but he said something to me the other day that seemed innocuous at the time, but…now I'm not so sure. I think it was him, sir."

"Do you think he did it alone? I mean, posting them all over the base doesn't really seem like his style." Jack focused on his hands, still not able to look her in the eye.

A slow smile spread across Sam's face. She stood abruptly. "Feel like going on a trip, sir?"

Jack's eye shot to hers. "A trip, Carter?"

"Yes, sir. I know a certain teenager who loves "Mean Girls." And I have a feeling she has a lot to do with this."

"Cassie." It was a statement, not a question.

"Cassie." Sam confirmed. They had a goal now, a culprit, something to think about besides the underlying messages in their wills. And they grabbed onto it for dear life.

"Let's go." Jack jumped up from his seat and led the way to the door. As the crossed the threshold, Jack bumped her shoulder. "You do know I won, right?"

"Sir?"

"Our Battle of Wills." He grinned at his own pun.

"It's not a contest, sir."

"I still won."

"How? I left you some pretty-," She cut herself off before she got too sappy. "Some pretty meaningful stuff."

"You did." Jack glanced at her sideways. "But I left you my house." He grinned as his second frowned and tried to think of a comeback. They got in the elevator, his major still silent next to him. "So, can I see what's in the box?"

Sam looked up at him, trying to calm her racing heart. "Sure." He grinned triumphantly. "When I get the deed to the cabin."

**TBC or The End?**

**Up to you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I Bequeath: Epilogue**

**A/N: There are no words to express how sorry I am for the crazy long delay. So, I'm really really sorry will just have to do.**

**So school's out and I'm free for summer! That means my muse is working overtime and I have a ton of stories in the works! Hopefully, you guys want to read them?**

**Enjoy!**

Jack stared down at his hands clasped tightly in front of him. He was gripping his own fingers so tightly his knuckles had turned white. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest and his mind was filled with a staticky white noise. It had come to this.

He was going to see Carter's will. More specifically, he was going to see what was inside Box Number One.

He took a deep breath, trying to clear his head. But it was no use. He kept playing their last minutes together over and over and each immortalized word sent a pang straight to his heart. How had this happened? After so many years together…

How the _hell _had he convinced Carter to let him see that box?

He was still mulling over their last exchange when she came stomping back into the room. She dropped a medium size box onto the coffee table in front of him and stood next to it, arms crossed over her chest, blue eyes boring into the top of his head. He slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, trying and failing to conceal his grin.

"Hi Carter."

"Jack."

"Hon."

Sam rolled her eyes and dropped onto the couch next to him, arms still crossed. She huffed an exasperated sigh. "Well, go ahead then. Open it."

"Have I told you how pretty you are today?" Jack winked at her, but knew his charms were failing.

"No. And now is not the time to start." Sam stared at the box as though it was going to bite her.

"Hey, do you remember when I first found out about the box?"

"How could I forget? It was quite possibly the most humiliating day of my life."

"Really? More humiliating than that day?" Jack gestured with his chin at the framed photo over the mantle.

Sam only had to glance at the photo to know Jack had won. "That day was not humiliating." She refused to look at him. "That was the happiest day of my life." She wasn't usually one for sap and circumstance, but the day she married Jack O'Neill _had _been the happiest day of her life. And the photo of her smashing cake into his smiling face always made her happy.

Jack smiled at her profile, then turned towards the box. Before he could reach out for it, Sam's voice stopped him. "Does this mean you're holding up your end of the bargain?"

"What end?"

"The end where you give me the deed to this house." Sam leaned back and grinned at him.

Jack narrowed his eyes at her, then leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers. "I believe seeing as how you've been a co-owner of this joint for half a decade now…I've fulfilled my half." Sam rolled her eyes playfully. "So, really, it's you who hasn't been living up to your end of the bargain."

"Yeah, yeah." Sam swatted him away and pulled the box into her lap. "So are you going to open it or what?"

"Open it. Definitely." Jack grabbed the box from his wife's hands and raised it gingerly to his ear.

"It doesn't make noise, Jack."

"Shhh."

Sam sighed and waited while her husband carefully inspected the box, turning it over and over, then shaking it slightly.

"It's not going to-,"

"Shhh!"

Sam rolled her eyes.

And waited.

Finally, he seemed satisfied that he was indeed holding…a box.

"O-kay!" He clapped his hands together, the sudden noise jarring Sam.

Carefully, almost reverently, Jack pulled the lid off the box. He wasn't really sure what he was expecting…a bright light illuminating the contents or something…but that certainly wasn't what he actually got. An oblong sheet of folded paper glared up at him. Jack glanced questioningly at Sam, but she studiously avoided his gaze.

Jack picked up the paper and unfolded it slowly. Sam's familiar scrawl greeted him and his smile grew as he read.

_Jack—_

_Six years ago a little girl and her hapless uncle decided to play a very ill-thought out (albeit brilliant) prank on us. I can't be too upset because this prank is what lead us here, to all of this. And I wouldn't trade it for the world. _

_But it did lead us to a very interesting question. What exactly did I keep in this box for so many years? Turns out you may never know. For two reasons._

_One: I kept all those little mementos because it was a reminder of what could be. I had to remind myself that there was a reason we went out there everyday and faced death. I had to remind myself that there was something to protect. I never wanted to forget. But now I can just look at my left hand or my bedroom or kitchen and I'm reminded. I got everything I was saving that box for._

_Two: I've scattered all the items throughout the house and written out a map for you on the refrigerator._

_Good luck._

_Yours Always,_

_Sam_

Jack stared at the page a moment longer, then turned to Sam. She was staring back at him, a challenge glinting in her brightened eyes.

"You're on." Jack planted a kiss on her lips and jumped up, running to the kitchen.

Sam followed him at a more sedate pace. She glanced at the box, now lying upended on the table. Yes…she already had everything that box had stood for. And she couldn't be happier.

**The End**

**Thank you to all my patient readers!**


End file.
